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I haven’t read enough film scripts. One I have read is the screenplay for Trumbo, written by John McNamara. I read it before having watched the film, and it moved me: to feel sadness, joy, and pride for the characters, and to shed actual tears. I’m no expert, but I would call that good writing. […]
I started watching Top of the Lake, mainly because it’s a British police procedural, and because it has Elisabeth Moss in it. I’m only one episode in, but it’s definitely weird. I hope the dominant, entitled drug lord trope turns out to be less cliché than seems so far. Anyway, there’s a character, GJ, who […]
I think I am ready to add another genre of film to stop watching: World War II films. I am seeing trailers for Tom Hanks’ Greyhound, and while it looks good, my reaction to it is completely ho-hum. That’s because I can’t imagine there being anything about it that I haven’t already seen. I have […]
Some of my favorite films are based on novels written by John le Carré. The Russia House, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener, and even The Tailor of Panama. So naturally I decided to start reading his novels. I began with The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (I haven’t seen the film), […]
When my infrared camera came in on Friday, I played with it a little that afternoon, but I couldn’t spend my time with it because I had a party to prepare. I snapped some photos around the house, and they showed some promise. The next morning, I played a little more with them in Photoshop, […]
I just realized that I can’t remember the last time I saw a film in a theater that wasn’t a superhero film, a Star Wars/Trek film, a James Bond film, or a Harry Potter film. Maybe it was “Ready Player One”. I decry all the superhero films and sequalism, and the audiences who won’t risk […]
I picked up a pair of Salomon Quest Prime GTX hiking boots (in a color called “Swamp/Night Forest/Titanium”), and they are working out quite well. I’ve finished two hikes in them. Today, with good hiking socks, there was not even a hint of blisters. They provide much better support for my feet. They do fit […]
Here are some novels I’ve read recently, and my thoughts about how easily they could be adapted to screenplays. Cat Out of Hell, Lynne Truss — There is quite a bit of action that is directly adaptable. The novel is presented as a mish-mash of formats, including interview transcripts, emails, and descriptions of photographs. All […]
I finished Elantris. The characters that seemed so unrealistic and two-dimensional became much more realistic and grew to have more depth than my initial impression at the beginning of the story. I’m glad I finished it, because I did quite enjoy it, though I would still say it’s not Brandon Sanderson’s best work. I also […]
From an NPR article, Are Movies Getting Better? The famous screenwriter William Goldman had a saying about the ability of the movie studios to predict what would be a critical or commercial success: “Nobody knows anything.” Waldfogel calls this “Goldman’s Law,” The methodology described in the article to arrive at its conclusion is flawed, but […]
